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Marvel is back with a much-needed franchise centered around the so-called “God of Mischief.” Loki takes place after Avengers: Endgame—which saw Loki steal the Tesseract during the 2012 events of The Avengers. Those who remember the legendary franchise well know that Loki was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. But the Marvel timeline is […]Loki (2021) I agree! Loki is exactly what we…

Children teach magic.

They are masters in joy, forgiveness & an unabashed belief in good. But perhaps more precisely children are magic.

If you’ve ever really played with a child—I mean get-down-on-the-floor, let-yourself-imagine and sing-off-key play—you know this. The kind of play where you lose the boundaries of space, time and rules, and burst into giggle fits. Maybe you mooed like a cow, played tag until you couldn’t breathe, or told a story that took the two of you away in wonder.

That’s magic.

That is transcendence.

In my mind-blowing privilege of playing with children every day, I attest that children are teachers in every breath.

Their souls sparkle with bright and wise messages. They teach us to be present. They teach us to allow in love and expel great joy. They help us abandon judgment. Most importantly, they consistently offer the startling and simplest solution—love.

Now if you are not tuned in, you will miss it. If you were hurried or unaware of the wisdom of children, this bit of brilliance could have been dismissed.

 If I gave more love, conflict would fall away.

And there it is.

Truth still sings through a child’s soul.

Sadly, adulthood and distraction often muddles the truth in me. The hints to the peace we seek are pretty simple. And they’re all around—the sun rising and the flowers blooming and the way the day plays out.

Put the phone down. Watch. Play. Slow down, breathe and try to catch a ride on a child’s sparkle. Still enveloped in the other side we so want to understand, they are sharing secrets of this existence. They are vibrating higher, most definitely—though it is possible to join them, laugh along and learn along. Give more love, particularly to the one acting out, for there is where the most pain hides. And with that, conflict will fall away.

I followed a sweet child’s advice and yes, the cats have found their peace. No doubt due to a fresh infusion of love—big love that flowed past my own impatience and worry like water from a garden hose. And in my mind’s eye, there is a little brown-haired boy holding that hose, watering daisies and singing to ladybugs and smiling in a way that tells me he knows so much. He feels what’s right—beyond reason and rules. And certainly past what grown-ups say. Kids invite us along to romp and remember our reasons for being. They remind us to laugh and love and play.

“Things have changed so much in the last five or 10 years,” said Hoppus’s partner, Craig Stekeur. “It’s gone from being freakish and career-killing to something people don’t even bat an eye about. Now, it’s oh, OK. That’s great …”

Of course, acting on Broadway in New York is different from Hollywood. Given the recent controversy over the possible casting of a black Bond, a gay Bond is hardly likely either. But what about a bisexual or sensitive Bond? Twelve years ago, Rupert Everett was asked if he’d play Bond. “It won’t happen because Bond fans would burn down MGM if the studios got a gay actor to play James Bond. There was never going to be an alternative gay Bond either.” Possibly it’s still too soon, but the casting of Whishaw as the all-American John Proctor is a significant advance. “He’s beautiful and he seems very sensitive,” said Anderson. “There’s a new male lead and it’s a reflection of the times.”